Castleford Tigers v Warrington Wolves: Lee Radford determined to take focus away from returning Daryl Powell

Powell, who led the Tigers to League Leaders’ Shield glory and three major finals during his eight and a half seasons in charge, makes his first return to Wheldon Road in front of the Sky Sports cameras this afternoon.

The spotlight is on Powell but Radford is more concerned about steering Castleford back on course after the Magic Weekend defeat by Leeds Rhinos.

Asked whether Powell’s return could give him a flavour of what to expect on his return to Hull FC next week, Radford joked: “I think I’ve got a pretty good idea what’s in store for me.

“I don’t know about Daryl this week but the focus is very much on us and getting a response from last week’s performance while continuing to build on some of the stuff we did well.

“Obviously the fixture is very much going to be about Daryl and Daryl coming back - but for us and me personally it’s about getting our performance right. If we do that, it’ll ultimately get us two points.”

Castleford are in the middle of a run of fixtures against sides around them in the Super League table, seeing off Catalans Dragons and Huddersfield Giants before falling short against Leeds.

Radford appreciates the value of a victory over a Warrington team now only four points behind his side in the table.

“You only get two points for a result but the importance is because of where the teams we’re playing are situated in the league,” said Radford.

“You get a couple of wins and you give yourselves a bit of breathing space; you get a couple of losses and you’re back in the mix of it.

“These next few weeks are really important because of who we’re playing and where they’re situated in the competition.”

Powell got the better of his former club in round two but Warrington have fallen well below expectations in his first season at the helm.

The Wire have improved in recent weeks, nilling Hull before comfortably beating a depleted Catalans at St James’ Park.

A play-off place is in Warrington’s sights heading into the final nine rounds, a fact not lost on Radford.

“People were tipping these boys for first or second at the beginning of the year,” he said.

“When everybody is firing they won’t be far off that - but they haven’t been firing consistently.

“Make no doubt about it, this is a big game for them. They’ll want to kick on from their last result - but we want to respond because of our result and our performance, even more so because we’re at home.”

For Radford, it is a case of Castleford getting back to doing what they did so well during their recent winning run.

“We need a significant improvement, particularly in that period where the game is in the balance and there for the taking,” adde Radford.

“The previous three weeks we came up with the answers but I don’t think we did on Saturday which was disappointing because it was a big stage.”